Ann Evans writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. She also teaches creative writing. She is also a freelance writer for a wide range of magazines.

Hi! Welcome to Ann Evans' blogspot.

Whether you've found this page by design or accident, I hope you enjoy my random ramblings.

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Book signing day is getting ever nearer. Could call it B Day - only that sounds like something you'd find in the bathroom. Although I probably will get a bit flushed on Saturday when I'm sitting in Waterstones hoping someone is going to walk through the door and show an interest in my latest book.

It's a 'Children's History of Coventry' and I'm really thrilled about it (a) because it's brilliant to get the opportunity of writing about my own home city; (b) because of the work the publisher, Hometown World have put into the lively layout and fun illustrations; and (c) because I love the idea of (hopefully) thousands of Coventry kids picking up this book and discovering something they didn't know about the place where they live.

If anyone reading this happens to be in Coventry city centre on Saturday 30th April between 10.30am and 12.30pm please pop into Waterstones and say hello. Exciting though it is to be doing a book signing, it's also terrifying to think I might be sitting there all alone for the duration.

Saturday, 2 April 2011

Where do ideas come from? It's a topic that always comes up when doing a school visit or an author talk. One of my answers being, when I'm walking the dog - and I know I'm not alone in this. Writer, David Calcutt told me that whatever writing dilemma he's trying to work through, he's usually got a solution by the time he's come back from walking his dog.

Today, my dog-share dog, Lola (she's my daughter's dog really) and I went for our regular walk to the park. I was thinking that I needed to come up with a short story for the Coventry Writers Group Short Story competition which the group are organising, with the deadline just a month away. The aim is to publish the entries as an ebook anthology and as a print-on-demand book - the theme being Coventry Tales.

Considering I've just has my non-fiction book, Children's History of Coventry published and my latest fictional book for young readers is set in Coventry, I had no excuse for not having a go at a 'Coventry Tale' for the competition.

Setting out from home with Lola I hadn't a clue what my story was going to be about. Halfway to the park a little spark of an idea began to flicker. By the time we'd reached the park I'd got the opening line, the main character and the last para. Throwing the ball for Lola I could see my character talking. I know her name and her age, and I know how she's feeling as she tells this tale.

The interruption from a gorgeous, bounding, floppy-eared Spaniel who wanted to play with Lola stemmed the flow for a while, but that didn't matter. I'd got my idea - that spark which provides the excitement needed to start writing. Maybe some expert might be able to explain how simple physical exercise or activity can unlock the creative side of the brain but I've no intention of looking any deeper into how it works. For me, just-a-walking the dog is the perfect solution for when you need to come up with a new idea. And as for Lola, there was a nice tasty treat for her when we got back home.

I wonder what methods other writers rely on when searching for an idea?